The Great Adventures of Slick Rick Turns 35 Years Old

Slick Rick is viewed as one of the most influential rappers of all-time. We all know Snoop Dogg has credited him for his style of rapping. Snoop even shouted out Slick Rick on his iconic, debut album Doggystyle. Slick Rick was one of the influential rappers during the original Golden Era. Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and many others are often mentioned. Slick Rick was part of the Get Fresh Crew alongside Doug E. Fresh and they crafted the La Di Da Di classic. The following year, Slick Rick got his own deal to become the third artist to sign to Def Jam Records. The Great Adventures of Slick Rick would drop about two years later. The iconic Great Adventures of Slick Rick turns 35 years old today. The album would go on to sell over a million copies.

Teenage Love was the first single to be released off the album. Teenage Love featured Big Daddy Kane and then an unknown Lil’ Kim in the video. The single was successful after reaching the top 10 of Hot Rap Singles. Slick Rick released his second single in the spring of 1989, and it was Children’s Story. Children’s Story is one of the greatest hip hop songs of all-time. It is one of the most sampled rap songs of all time. Children’s Story has been placed on numerous lists naming it one of the best rap songs ever. Outkast, Black Star, Eminem, The Game, and many other artists have covered it or used it as a sample. Recently, Kanye West and Nas sampled it for Cops Shot the Kid on the Nasir album. The third and final single from the album was another great track called Hey Young World.

Hey Young World wasn’t as successful as Children’ Story, but it was a great track. The song has been sampled a lot also. There is a reason why this album is still talked about throughout the years. The Great Adventure of Slick Rick is a classic and one of the many highlights from albums that dropped in 1988. After all these years, Slick Rick is still mentioned as one of the greatest storytelling rappers. Slick Rick is actually preparing to drop his first new album in 24 years. This is a great look seeing Nas has said he wants older rappers to start back dropping new music. Check out my top 5 tracks from The Great Adventures of Slick Rick below. After that, you can peep at the track listing and stream link for the project.

Top 5 Tracks: Children’s Story, Teenage Love, Hey Young World, The Ruler’s Back, and Mona Lisa

The Great Adventures of Slick Rick Track Listing

1. Treat Her Like a Prostitute
2. The Ruler’s Back
3. Children’s Story
4. The Moment I Feared
5. Let’s Get Crazy
6. Indian Girl (An Adult Story)
7. Teenage Love
8. Mona Lisa
9. Kit (What’s the Scoop)
10. Hey Young World
11. Teacher, Teacher
12. Lick the Balls